Jesus’ Hidden Life

There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written. John 21:25

Imagine the insights that our Blessed Mother would have had about her Son. She, as His mother, would have seen and understood so many hidden moments of His life. She would have watched Him grow year after year. She would have watched Him relate and interact with others throughout His life. She would have noticed that He was preparing for His public ministry. And she would have witnessed so many hidden moments of that public ministry and countless sacred moments of His entire life.

This Scripture above is the final sentence of the Gospel of John and is one we do not hear very often. But it offers some fascinating insights to reflect upon. All we know about the life of Christ is contained in the Gospels, but how could these short Gospel books ever come close to describing the totality of who Jesus is? They certainly cannot. To do that, as John says above, the pages could not be contained in the whole world. That’s saying a lot.

So a first insight we should take from this Scripture is that we know only a small portion of the actual life of Christ. What we know is glorious. But we should realize that there is so much more. And this realization should fill our minds with interest, longing and a desire for more. By coming to know how little we actually do know, we will hopefully be compelled to seek Christ more deeply.

However, a second insight we can gain from this passage is that, even though the numerous events of Christ’s life cannot be contained in countless volumes of books, we can, nonetheless, discover Jesus Himself in what IS contained in the Holy Scriptures. No, we may not know every detail of His life, but we can come to meet the Person. We can come to encounter the Living Word of God Himself in the Scriptures and, in that encounter and meeting of Him, we are given all we need.

Reflect, today, on how deeply you know Jesus. Do you spend sufficient time reading the Scriptures and meditating on them? Do you speak to Him daily and seek to know and love Him? Is He present to you and do you regularly make yourself present to Him? If the answer to any of these questions is “No” then perhaps this is a good day to recommit yourself to a deeper reading of the Sacred Word of God.

Lord, I may not know everything about Your life, but I do desire to know You. I desire to meet You every day, to love You and to know You. Help me to enter more deeply into a relationship with You. Jesus, I trust in You.